Former El Cajon Councilwoman Jillian Hanson-Cox leaves a number of legacies in East County from her years of charitable giving, and one of them is a 360-pound lion.

Hanson-Cox is serving a 30-month sentence at an Arizona prison camp for mail fraud and filing a false tax return after her admitted theft of $3.5 million from her former employer, Kearny Mesa-based Century Design Inc.

More than 100 members of the community advocated on her behalf at her federal sentencing, swayed by her philanthropic donations.

Lions, Tigers & Bears, an exotic animal rescue in Alpine, was one recipient of that largess.

Hanson-Cox and her husband, Robert, won the naming rights to a new lion club at an auction in 2007 — the year prosecutors said was the height of Hanson-Cox’s embezzlement.

“Jillian was named at our Wild in the Country event when the highest bidder, Robert Cox, named the cub after his wife, El Cajon City Councilwoman Jillian Hanson-Cox,” said a statement that appeared on the sanctuary’s website until The Watchdog inquired about the event last week. “The name means ‘youthful’ and ‘bright light,’ which he says depict the personalities of the cub and his wife alike.”

Lions, Tigers and Bears founder Bobbi Brink issued this statement when asked for details of the naming rights: “Lions Tigers and Bears has many people who donate to this worthwhile cause. We do not discuss the nature of any donations to protect the privacy of our donors.”

The sanctuary declined to say whether the donation might be returned to the family-run business that involuntarily funded Hanson-Cox’s lifestyle, which included purchases of many luxury items and funding celebrity appearances at the community’s Mother Goose parade.

Jillian the lion came to the Alpine sanctuary from a Louisiana big-cat facility, along with two sibling cubs, Bakari and Suri.